FP3 How to solve non-recognized FP3 device in fastboot on a Win10 device (easy [/e/] OS installer)

Dear all,
I recently decided to try out the [/e/] OS and started doing it according to instructions found here and on the [/e/] forum. However I got stuck in fastboot mode (phone not recognized by the system).

  1. While I had the device manager in fastboot mode I went under device manager and tried updating the drivers with the google driver.

  2. Win 10 would not let me update the driver (selected option under Other Devices/Android/right clicked and selected update driver then selected “Browse my computer for drivers”, clicked “Next” and then clicked “Search for updated drivers on Windows Update”).

  3. A Windows Update Window popped up and I selected “Check for update”. After that 3 optional updates appeared (Android ADB Interface, Kedacom USB Device and LeMobile Android Device). I selected all of them and Win downloaded one and then asked me to restart (my FP3 was still connected to a USB 2.0 port).

  4. After rebooting I found the LeMobile driver installed and I was able to access my phone in fastboot mode.
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Some tech. details: Win 10 Pro, logged in under admin account, worked using the easy installer with same result. USB 2.0 port.

KR,

Hi
I haven’t tried an alternate OS yet so the questions I have are

a) could you provide links to the two procedures you mention at the beginning and
b) I note in the first image it states the Device is Locked ~ do you not have to unlock the phone first?

Excuse my ignorance but I’ve only had a FP for three months and am sticking to the default OS to see how other issues are resolved.

I’m sure someone will be actually helpful very soon :slight_smile:

1 Like

Hi,

As for your question, you need to enable an OEM unlocking using the code. However upon entering the code the device state once in fastboot still shows locked. This surprised me as well.

You can find the easy installer here. Although it’s still in beta, it should work.

KR,

Ok so the two ‘instructions’ included the unlocking.
My limited experience says that I should be able to unlock my phone and then use the power and volume keys to get the same screen as you first show. If that’s the case I will try that.

Just noticed this topic

Yes, the I press volume down and the power button and get to fastboot. This does not seem to be the problem because I can even trigger fast boot using the command line console. The problem is definitely the driver. For some reason my system won’t allow me to install downloaded drivers. The correct driver should be the one found here. Win 10 Pro won’t allow me to install it (not sure why, because I am under an admin account).

This topic may be useful ?

Hi, thnx for the tip and yes, both phones have been. Tried both Wi-Fi and cellular. Let me try again, however I believe it’s a usb port driver issue.

But that is “works as designed”. In the developer options you only allow to unlock the bootloader. To actually unlock the bootloader you have to boot into bootloader mode and execute a fastboot command.

2 Likes

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Looking at this screenshot, you seem to have clicked the “Browse” button to select the driver.

But that’s wrong. You need to click on the “Let me pick…” and then search for an entry “Android”.

Can you be a little more explicit on that? Do you mean the screenshot following the one in this post? Or something else?

As far as I understood, you install the driver from Get the Google USB Driver  |  Android Studio  |  Android Developers and then you’re able to select it from the “Let me pick…” option.

2 Likes

Hi Ingo,
thank you very much for your comments. As far as the “Let me pick…” option is concerned there are many options to choose from and I am really not sure which one to pick. Could you please advise me on what to select? Android does not show up in the list - most probably due to device being in fastboot mode, however once FP3 does get recognized, the issue only appears once I boot into fastboot mode.
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Tried with software devices but got a message that installing was not recommended.


Sorry to spam but I want to make sure I understand what I am doing.
Thank you in advance!
KR,

There is a similar problem in the /e/ forum: https://community.e.foundation/t/installation-auf-fairphone3-lasst-sich-mit-easy-installer-nicht-fortfuhren/23460/9?u=ingo_fp_angel (that topic is German, though). And it does not have a solution yet.

Given that the list of devices to pick from is sorted alphabetically, the problem is pretty obvious: there is no “Android” entry where it should be.

According to this /e/ topic the whole procedure is meant to be done while the phone is in fastboot mode (it’s the fastboot mode that doesn’t work, so I find it rather natural to assume it has to be done while the phone is in fastboot mode): https://community.e.foundation/t/fp3-no-usb-conection-via-fastboot-unlocking-bootloader-not-possible/23351/6?u=ingo_fp_angel

Question: did you successfully install https://developer.android.com/studio/run/win-usb (or just try again if you’ve done it previously)?

1 Like

I did it and e is working on my phone! The problem was optional updates in Windows. While it did block the installation of the Google USB driver, I stumbled upon optional updates in the update folder, when clicking on them I found 3 ( Android ADB Interface, Kedacom USB Device and LeMobile Android Device). I selected all of them and Win downloaded something and then rebooted (important to note with my FP3 connected to an USB 2.0 port). After reboot I found the LeMobile driver installed and after that I was able to access fastboot.
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7 Likes

Thanks for the hint. I had the same problem and installing optional windows updates did the trick for me.
Afterwards the drivers for fastboot worked.

5 Likes

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